On any other day, Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls’ double against the New York Yankees would not have gotten any attention.
On Sunday, Walls drew the eyes of a lot of Americans in the fifth inning of the game when he appeared to pay homage to former President Trump, who survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania only eight days prior.
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Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls, #6, looks on before a game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the New York Yankees on July 20, 2024 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. (Andrew Mordzynski/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Walls waltzed onto second base, turned to his dugout and held up a fist. He was seen mouthing the words, “Fight, fight.”
He was 1-for-3 in the game as Tampa Bay won 6-4. He did not post anything about the action on his Instagram immediately afterward. His wife, Hallie, shared the highlight on her Instagram Stories with three first emojis.
Walls entered the game batting well below the Mendoza Line through 29 games. Before Sunday’s game against the Yankees, he was hitting .154 with a .477 OPS and four RBI. He had one double, and Sunday’s hit was his second.
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Taylor Walls, #6 of the Tampa Bay Rays, and Richie Palacios, #1 of the Tampa Bay Rays, celebrate after defeating the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on July 21, 2024 in New York City. (Adam Hunger/Getty Images)
He was in his fourth season with the Rays. Tampa Bay selected the Georgia native in the third round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Elsewhere, St. Louis Cardinals players initially appeared to do something similar when designated hitter Alec Burleson hit a home run against the Atlanta Braves.
However, veteran player Matt Carpenter told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that was not the case.
Tampa Bay Rays shortstop Taylor Walls reacts after turning a double play during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, July 21, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
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“Definitely not a political statement, that is off base,” Carpenter said.
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